The present invention generally relates to occupant safety restraint systems and more particularly to a system designed to protect an occupant in a side impact and/or rollover accident.
The concept of providing safety systems to protect an occupant during a side impact collision or rollover accident has been proposed in the prior art. These systems include air bags that are stored within one or more of the vehicle doors and, when inflated, provide a cushion between the occupant and the side of the vehicle. Other systems deploy an air bag from a side or wing of the seat. Other systems deploy a net or air bag that is typically stored near the roof rail of the vehicle and, when pulled down, covers the window area of the door to prevent occupant egress.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved side impact and rollover system. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an air bag which protects the occupant in a side impact collision and also functions in cooperation with a seat belt system to tighten the seat belt about the occupant, thereby removing slack.
Accordingly the present invention comprises: a side impact crash protection and rollover system comprising: a web guide attachable to a pillar of a vehicle; a seat belt system having a shoulder belt portion supported by and extending from the web guide, the shoulder belt portion adapted to be secured about a seated occupant; an air bag assembly including an air bag initially stored in an uninflated or folded condition adjacent the web guide and when inflated is positioned adjacent the pillar, the air bag including a first channel for receiving a portion of the shoulder belt.
Many other objects and purposes of the invention will be clear from the following detailed description of the drawings.